Watch Out for the Upgraded Nav DVD!!!

[ThePlainsman]

I just experienced something to anger me about the Outlook. It's the navigation system, or at least the latest DVD nav maps. Before I installed the newest DVD, I took my Outlook to Minnesota and South Carolina from Pennsylvania, guided all the way to specific addresses by the original Nav and it's so-called "out-of-date" DVD. It performed flawlessly. Before each trip, just for the hell of it, I ran Mapquest.com and punched in the same addresses into my portable Garmin, for comparison purposes. They didn't give exactly the same routes, but the arrival times/travel times were very close.

Well, over this past Thanksgiving, I took a drive up to Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Mass, after installing the current DVD nav information. It took me on trip through hell! This thing took me through the worst neighborhoods in the Bronz and Harlem! At night! No matter which route I requested (fastest, shortest, or other) it wanted to take me the longest possible route through residential areas. It refused to stay on the highway and major roads! I nearly had a heart attack driving through the seediest, most crowded areas of New Jersey and New York City! I finally ignored it, found a highway and stayed on it until I happened on a state trooper at a rest stop and got directions from him.

Once I got to my destination - 3 hours later than it should've been - I bought a portable Garmin (I'd left my portable at home, trusting my Outlook's nav). Sure enough, it gave me a route back home to Pennsylvania that was 2.5 hours faster than the Outlook nav. The only contact with the inner city was a brief excursion on the Cross Bronx Expressway.

I noticed that within Plymouth, Mass and Cape Cod, the Outlook Nav was okay--for local destinations. But anything of any distance away and it couldn't calculate the fastest (i.e. highway or safest) route, no matter how many times I tried it over and over. Thank God I save the original map DVD. I'm reinstalling it tomorrow (Sunday)! And on Monday, I'm going to scream at my Saturn dealer. Arrrrgggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

[KennedySaturn]

Yea go into nav options and change your settings so it wont avoid highways and major road ways. Most people dont know how to use the nav because they were not properly shown. Takes 10 seconds to fix it when you changed the disk it went to a default setting for that cd. It's a common mistake and is very easy one to make. Sorry for your trouble and hope this helps.

Greg Kennedy
Saturn of Norwood.

[VinceL]

Plainsman,

Shortly after I got my Outlook, I experienced the exact same problem you had. It took me right through downtown Wilmington Delaware to get from Chester County PA to NJ. I couldn't understand it. I then started going through the various settings for the NAV system and saw that it was set to avoid highways. I changed the setting, entered the same destination, and it correctly directed me to use highways.

It seems awfully stupid for a NAV system to have a default setting to avoid highways.

[ThePlainsman]

Originally Posted by VinceL

Plainsman,

Shortly after I got my Outlook, I experienced the exact same problem you had. It took me right through downtown Wilmington Delaware to get from Chester County PA to NJ. I couldn't understand it. I then started going through the various settings for the NAV system and saw that it was set to avoid highways. I changed the setting, entered the same destination, and it correctly directed me to use highways.

It seems awfully stupid for a NAV system to have a default setting to avoid highways.

Yep, you were both right! I feel embarrassed. But like you said, Vince, it's pretty stupid for the default setting to be to avoid major roadways and take you through hell and back across every minor side street in God's universe.

[MrBiz]

Originally Posted by VinceL

Plainsman,

Shortly after I got my Outlook, I experienced the exact same problem you had. It took me right through downtown Wilmington Delaware to get from Chester County PA to NJ. I couldn't understand it. I then started going through the various settings for the NAV system and saw that it was set to avoid highways. I changed the setting, entered the same destination, and it correctly directed me to use highways.

It seems awfully stupid for a NAV system to have a default setting to avoid highways.

Wow, I took that same "detour" through Wilmington not realizing that the settings were set to avoid highways. I'll have to check my settings. Thanks.

Biz

[scotted73]

The new NAV disk in my Outlook loaded up without making any changes or defaulting the NAV system.
It operated as usual.

[ThePlainsman]

Yup, I fixed my through one of the system settings. Highways and major roadways were both "grayed out" i.e. "off."

Funny how you can't always tell there is anything wrong if you stay within maybe a 90-100 mile radius. But if you're planning a multi-state long drive and have installed the new DVD sent out by Saturn, well you had better watch out. The Nav will take you through gangland in some urban hellhole. Either go into the options and correct it or bulletproof your Outlook before you leave. I lost years off my life driving through the Bronx late at night last week. I didn't thiink I'd make it out alive. It was like something out of a bad movie. Thank God I didn't get a flat tire!

[STRNGUY]

Originally Posted by ThePlainsman

Yup, I fixed my through one of the system settings. Highways and major roadways were both "grayed out" i.e. "off."

Funny how you can't always tell there is anything wrong if you stay within maybe a 90-100 mile radius. But if you're planning a multi-state long drive and have installed the new DVD sent out by Saturn, well you had better watch out. The Nav will take you through gangland in some urban hellhole. Either go into the options and correct it or bulletproof your Outlook before you leave. I lost years off my life driving through the Bronx late at night last week. I didn't thiink I'd make it out alive. It was like something out of a bad movie. Thank God I didn't get a flat tire!

I know the feeling. I got a flat tire in Over the Rhine a couple of years ago... At 11:30pm. In a brand new Acura TL. For those of you in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, you'll understand my concern. For those of you NOT in the Cincinnati area, think of everything negative you've heard about Cincy. Chances are, 95% of it happened in or near OTR.

[ThePlainsman]

Originally Posted by STRNGUY

I know the feeling. I got a flat tire in Over the Rhine a couple of years ago... At 11:30pm. In a brand new Acura TL. For those of you in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, you'll understand my concern. For those of you NOT in the Cincinnati area, think of everything negative you've heard about Cincy. Chances are, 95% of it happened in or near OTR.

Over the Rhine? Sounds like someplace in Germany.

My Nav (before I fixed it) took me through hellholes. I had my wife and kids with me! There were hookers! Pimps, drug dealers, drug addicts, bums, and assorted night wanderers who looked like they'd carjack you and cut your throat just out of boredom. We couldn't get away because of the dense traffic. And the cars around us were either junk pieces of crap or straight out of Pimp My Ride. Is that what 'Over the Rhine" is like?

[djhhjd]

Wow! kinda sound like East St. Louis. Did you see any barrel fires and walk up window washers? How many miles do you have on that thing Plainsman?

[ThePlainsman]

Originally Posted by djhhjd

Wow! kinda sound like East St. Louis. Did you see any barrel fires and walk up window washers? How many miles do you have on that thing Plainsman?

Barrel fires? I saw a car on fire! There was a crowd of "night wanderers" around it. I floored it for a couple of blocks in case they wanted my Outlook to be the next victim. That night, I broke multiple traffic laws trying to get out of that war zone and find a highway.

After taking 3 long-distance family trips since my purchase date in February, I now have about 17,500 miles on the odometer. It's a great vehicle.

[outlook33]

How outdated is the nav dvd that comes in the 07 Outlook? I tried to find several street addresses in my county that have been there atleast a year and a half and one has been there for 3 years and the nav did not show it. Also where do you get the latest dvd and how much is it? Thanks for the help.

[outlook33]

I checked my current dvd version for the nav and it is the 2005 version. I checked the nav manual and found no # to call to order the updated version. My dealership gave me the # 877-628-3472 or go to gmnavdisc.com. Have your VIN# handy to order. My salesman said it appears the 07 Outlooks got the 2005 version and the 08's have the 2006 nav version. Just wanted to post the disc info in case someone may need it.